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"Minor flaws keep this game from being absolutely perfect..."

With Sports games, there have always been two types of games; those that aim to be like the real thing (sims), and those that do not(fastasy/arcade).

Base Wars, featuring teams of futuristic robots definitely comes from the latter school of thought. However, Base Wars should please all but the most hardcore sim fan.

Presentation: 9
Base Wars features two modes of play: Open mode and Pennant mode. In open mode you can either Play Ball (which will be gotten to later) or enter the Edit Mode.

In this Edit Mode, you are allowed to change the teams name, what types of robots make up the team, what those robots are named, and what position they play. Both of these teams are equipped with the powerful Laser Weapons, so using them might actually be a bit cheap but it can be fun.

Pennant mode is a combination of Play Ball and Edit Modes. You choose up to 6 of the 12 teams in the game to form a league and play up to 50 games. At this point you can change the teams in the same way you changed them in edit mode, so I won't do a rehash. During the course of the League play you earn money (20,000 for a win:5,000 for a loss) and use that to better your team. Whatever team has won the most games wins the League and you're treated to a parade scene which is basic, but pretty cool. The game also tracks players in Home Runs, Fight Wins, and Pitching ERA so you can see who's the best at what.

As you can see there are enough things to do to keep you occupied. The game could keep up with a few more stats but I have no real complaints.

Bot Analysis:
As I mentioned there are different types of robots that can be on teams. There are 4 types ,in fact, and they all have their strengths and weaknesses which is defintely a plus and adds more depth to the game.

The Tank is a pretty good fighter and a very stable fielder, but a bit slow. Tanks also tend to be loaded with HP.

The Mcycle is very fast but this makes him a liability when it comes to fielding and baserunning. You see, the Mcycle is so fast that changing directions quickly is a very difficult task for them. However, IMO the Mcycle is the best fighter.

The Flybot, IMO is the second best fighting bot and is highly stable. While it's not very fast it is faster than the tank and just plain looks cool.

The Cyborg gives you crappy fighting but is a fast AND steady base runner and fielder. Not as fast as the Mcycle but doesn't have the liabilities either. For actual baseball skills, this is the best all-around bot.

Graphics: 7
The graphics are nothing special, but aren't a hindrance either. Although the scenes when the robots are being repaired are pretty awesome. On the field, you have two views. One is the overhead view when a hit has occured, and the other is the catcher's view where the pitching/batting interaction takes place. You can tell what everything is, and nothing looks bad at all. But then again Graphics don't really matter to me.

Gameplay: 9.5
Every game, no matter what it looks like on paper, or how many options it has eventually has to take to the field to show the real heart of the game, and Base Wars definitely delivers here.

First of all, the pitching/batting interaction is simply AMAZING. Being the arcade styled game that it is, the pitcher has full control over the ball, even after it is released. A fully upgraded pitcher can really throw some wicked stuff, but still ultimately has to throw strikes to get the outs. A picher can vary the speed of the pitch just by varying how long the button is held down. When a pitcher is fully glowing, they will unleash the fastest pitch they can throw, which varies depending on how much the pithcer has been upgraded in the necessary arenas.

The batter has a few options as well. Batters have full freedom over where they place themselves in the box, and can also decide whether to swing level, try to hit a grounder, try to pop it up, and whether to pull or push the ball. The guessing game can get really interesting. And it pulls all of this off with no need for menus. Generally, how you try to hit the ball is how you will hit the ball, provided you make contact. Some sims don't even pull off hitting this well. Simply amazing.

Fielding is no slouch either. The bots are highly responsive and actually have a degree of auto control to help get you in a spot where you can make the play. Sometimes it might try to control them a bit much, but it never prevents you from making the catch. The only problem is if the ball is hit exceptionally hard it will travel faster than the camera. However this almost never casues any problems as most hits that do this are either home runs or line drive outs.

Base Running is also good and responsive and is really no different from any other baseball game. It does it's job so that all that really need to be said. You can't slide though.

However the big difference comes into play in the fighting. When a player is tagged, a fight breaks out. The closer the play, the more even the fighter's health bars. If it would obvioulsy be an out in a sim, the tagged bot has a snowball's chance in hell of winning unless they have a better weapon. But if it's really close, then the health bars might be completely equal. A very well implemented system.

The Robot HP also comes into a role with fighting and getting hit by pitches. When a robot gets hit, they lose HP. If they lose it all, they blow up. If 3 bots on one team blow up, they must forfeit the game. I think it works rather well.

Games might range from 1-0 picthers duels to flat out home run fests. It depends on the skill of the players and what upgrades the robots have. I've had both, including a game 1-0 game that went 37 innings.

The AI of this game is also pretty darn good when it comes to playing a good game of baseball. It's a bit lax when it comes to fighting, but adequate enough to win the fights it should win.

For multiplayer, this game really shines as the opposing players will use their pitchers to mess with eachother's minds and try to predict the next move. Just a tip: If your robot has scant HP, don't move close to the plate if the opponent is charging up. If you do, you'll find out why I warned you not too.

Sound: 7

Music plays during the game, but it won't annoy you. Hitting the ball is well timed and sounds good, and you can just sense the power when a picther charges up. The battle sounds are also really good. You can almost feel the metal crunching. The umpire is audible but sometimes sounds a bit muffled. But it really takes nothing away from the game. If you just want to listen to the sound effects, voice, and music, there just happens to be a Sound Test mode, when I wish more games had.

Misc. Flaws: No game is 100% flawless and this game does have a couple of them. In Pennant mode, you will surely notice that the computer is an idiot when it comes to spending money. You'll really wonder what the heck it's thinking. However a way you can solve this a little is to switch the computer controlled teams to Manual and buy stuff for them; then just switch them back to computer control.

The other flaw is that some of the items are just two darn strong. Any robot with a Hyper Shoulder is a walking, practically guaranteed homerun. If you're facing a whole lot of these, you're screwed, and having them yourself, makes it too easy. The Laser weapons are also too good. They're expensive, but also create the walking homerun via the unstoppable weapon method. This is why I called the edit teams "cheap." However if you make sure to keep things fair, these problems won't come up and the challenge will still be there.

Replay: 10
It's a sports game that plays extremely well and has enough options to keep you busy. Need I say more?

The Good:
Great Pitcher/Batter interaction
Responsive fielding and running
A good amount of options

The Bad:
A few items are just too strong
Camera doesn't always keep up with the ball
AI is stupid at times

The Ugly:
Having to watch one of your poor robots explode

Overall (not an average): 10
Base Wars is a worthy addition into anyone's video game library, but good luck finding an actual copy of the game. Thank goodness for emulation. I've had this since I was a kid, and still play it now. I practically guarantee that you will like this game or at least not hate it. Whether you like sims or arcade games, Base Wars is a Baseball dream.



Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/10/02, Updated 04/10/02